Month: April 2021

Barbara Bush

Bill Thompson

Sometimes when I interview celebrities, they are exactly the way I thought they would be.

And sometimes, a celebrity would surprise me a little. I was surprised a little by former First Lady Barbara Bush, wife of George H.W. Bush, our 41st president.

When I met her in 1994, when she published her Memoir, I was unprepared for how simple, straightforward, and folksy Mrs. Bush was. It was like talking to my mom or one of her friends over a cup of coffee.

It’s important to remember that Barbara Bush holds a rare distinction in American history: she is only the second woman, behind Abigail Adams, to be the wife of one president and the mother of another.

Now, one thing you will hear us refer to in this interview is a small plane crashing into the White House lawn. It happened just a couple of days before our interview, when a young man stole a light plane and crash landed on the South Lawn.

Oh, and also, you’ll hear why Barbara Bush quit smoking.

So here now, from 1994, Barbara Bush.

Barbara Bush died in April 2018. She was 92. George H.W. Bush died seven montrhs later at age 94.

Dick Vitale

Bill Thompson
Photo: Dave Hogg

You would probably be hard-pressed to find a person with more natural energy and enthusiasm than Dick Vitale — former high school, college, and NBA basketball coach turn sports broadcaster.

Indeed, it’s kind of hard to think of college basketball these days without Dick Vitale coming to mind.

And when I met him, more than 32 years ago now, he seemed as perplexed as anyone by how successful he had actually become.

So here now, from 1988, Dick Vitale:

Dick Vitale wil be 82 in June. And still going strong.

Jim Lovell

Bill Thompson

Look at the calendar. Tomorrow’s date is 4321. That inspired me to choose today’s interview, with the man who was commander of the Apollo 13 mission, which took place 51 years ago this month.

Jim Lovell was the commander of the three-man crew, whose mission was to land on the Moon. But just two days into the mission, something went terribly wrong.

Tom Hanks, who played Jim Lovell in the movie Apollo 13, uttered the words that have become a catchphrase. But in the moment when level actually said those words, he and his crew mates were dangerously close to death.

In 1994, Jim Lovell co-authored a book about the Apollo 13 mission, and that’s when I met him.

So here now, from 1994, Jim Lovell:

Lovell celebrated his 93rd birthay last week.